Ronnie McGinn's Poetry Page

Success in poetic technique depends on a balance between freedom and restraint. In this week's poem, by Mark Stout of The Ballinlough Writers Group in Cork, we find a perfect example of the balance we refer to.

One of the difficulties felt by modern poets is that there are now no accepted restrictions. A poet has complete freedom to write rhymed or unrhymed verse, to use regular stanza-forms or none, to invent his own new and personal rhythms or borrow the tighter rhythms of other poets.

Mark has not allowed his writing to get bogged down by the weight of excessive restriction, instead his poem flows and draws in the reader with an effectiveness that will be the envy of many, but wins the admiration of us all.

Tomorrows' Ideas

Tiring eyes shroud me,
They want to rest -
Just for a while,
Without the use of Dalmane,
To dream of the travels
I will enjoy in the future,
My beard of travel still grows,
My burdened weight-carriers
Of shoulders still reside,
My feet walked a hundred miles,
Through countries of culture,
I cycled to places of awe,
I swam in historic rivers and seas,
Towns of my future
Will see my footsteps,
The rain-battered winds of today
Will vanish with the boisterous Winter,
The torture of boredom will lose,
My tired eyes shall dream-
Of tomorrows' ideas
And friends re-united.

© Mark Stout